Marooned
by IvoryAlchemist
Summary: At first he was only a client, only a home to be tidied, but as she sees him unfold he becomes so much more.
1. Chapter 1

She is no less then 25, no more than 30, with dark, thick hair cropped close to her head. Her friends tease her that she resembles Paul McCartney with her pale skin, short dark hair and catching maroon colored eyes. She is tall and slim, well shaped and busty, but not top-heavy, adorned in snug, well worn jeans, gym shoes and a Grateful Dead shirt.

She stops by a Starbucks, picks up a coffee and flashes a quick, charming smile to the young man behind the counter. She jiggles her wrist to get a look at her watch.

Shit. Forty minutes late.

She am jogging now, seeing the bus pull to a stop a few feet ahead and needing to make it. Just as the doors are jerking close she appears and shoves her arm through it, and with a roll of his eyes the driver wheels them open again. She hands him a few dollars and collapses in a seat beside a fellow passenger.

She looks out the window and studies the man briefly.

He has a rough stubble and strewn, knotted hair that was thinning on top, his eyes are creased with age and his frown makes thin lines down his chin. His clothes are baggy and tattered, his jeans hang low on his hips, and as she sizes him up quickly he glances at her with sharp silver eyes.

Then she sees a small baseball cap with GRAVEDIGGER scrawled in an extravagant font across the front, and a slim wood cane twirling in his long, blunted fingers.

The shriek of her cell phone pulls her attention away.

"Hello?" The man is looking at her now, a mild annoyance shining in his eyes. "Mr. Turner. Yes, I know what time it is – yes, I am very, very sorry. I'm on the bus now." She glances back at him and watches him stare into her. "What? No, sir, you can't! I need this job. I –" The hollow buzz of the phone line silences her pleas and she snaps the device close. She turns and looks at the man with her strange maroon eyes.

"I clean houses." She knows that he can tell by the tone of her voice she does not think he owns a house, or anything else for that matter. He arches a single, blond-brown brow.

"Oh." It's the first word he has uttered to her as of yet.

She smiles quickly but can't pull her gaze away and he grabs her hand suddenly. She fights the fear she feels and reasurres herself to know she is surrounded by people.

The man pulls out a felt tip pen and scribbles his address in quick, loopy letters, then writes GREG HOUSE above it.

"You can come and clean mine in the time slot you have cleaned…" He trails off and nods toward her phone, not remembering the man's name.

"Mr. Turner." She offers and he simply looks at her.

"See you next week." He says, then climbs slowly to his feet as the bus rolls to a stop and clambers off with his cane slapping the pavement beside him.

"Bye," She breathes, staring in awe at the strange homeless homeowner that just employed her.

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Vote 'yes' or 'no': Should I continue this and make it a story?

Vote 'romance' or 'friendship': If so, should they get together or just be an account of what House is like through her eyes?


	2. Chapter 2

She wakes up early, before the sun is completely over the hills, and takes a long, soothing shower. It has been a week since she met that strange man on the bus, but she knows she will go to his house, if for no other reason that to see him again.

She rides the bus to his street, and then walks stiff-legged up to his door, checks to make sure she got the address right, and knocks precisely three times.

It cracks open, a stream of light coming from within, blocked only by a head and a pair of staring silver balls.

She doesn't speak, knowing that what she would say would be rushed and nervous, but instead stands and waits with a firm look in her strange, glowing maroon eyes, and he notices the identical dark sparks in each.

He opens the door wider but stops her from entering.

"What's your name?" His voice is rougher and deeper than she remembered, and sounds as if he was not born an American, but answers without hesitation.

"Akaisha Juliet Bryant."

He raises his thin brows.

"An unusual name. Irish?" His voice is cool and detached, but she can see something swimming across his eyes.

She nods.

"You should call me Ruby." She asserts, and he smiles briefly. She guesses that is not a common expression for him.

"Bossy much? It's not that I _could _call you Ruby, it's that I _should._" He teases, but she gives nothing away. "Because of your eyes, right? They have a very unusual shade."

Again, she nods, and he backs up, prompting her to follow.

She walks in easily, taking in all that was around her. A single towering bookshelf, full of books, pictures and CD's, lots of clothes strewn sloppily on the floor, the odor of stale boos, old laundry and something distinctly masculine. Her nose twitched. Not a trace of woman.

The living room is spacey and looks desperately decorated, like he felt the room was too barren and bought everything he could afford to fill it.

A large, lumpy leather couch dominates the space, along with a wide coffee table, massive TV and lots of junk all over the floor. Knick-knacks adorn every surface, and she can hardly wait to organize the mess.

"I can see why you hired me." She states, clearly not concerned if he took offense.

"So _Akaisha_—"

"Ruby." She glares at him with angry little gems, clearly familiar with him game.

"—Ruby," He corrects himself softly, staring at her intensely; surprised that she doesn't look away. "I see you didn't bring any cleaning supplies."

"Man like yourself, figured you already had them." She says simply, and he smirks, opening a pantry full of cleaners, vacuums and rags.

"Make yourself at home." He finishes and limps over to his stereo, turning on the Grateful Dead at a volume that would certainly make them ungrateful.

"What happened to your leg?" She asks, without the least regard for civility.

He ignores her for a moment, and then speaks suddenly. "An infarction in my thigh. I was in the hospital; it took them days to figure out what was wrong with me. Once they did, I decided to wait it out once the clot was removed, see if the muscle would survive." He pauses and glances at her, but she is busy cleaning the dishes and listening. "My girlfriend, I was with her for five years. She was a lawyer; I gave her power of attorney. When I was in a chemically induced coma, she authorized a surgery I had refused, to take out the dead muscle."

He stops then and stands, limping over until he is only a few strides away. "Do you think it was stupid of me to trust her?" He asks point blank, and she knows he is trying to assess her personality. His version of an employment interview.

"I don't know, because I didn't know her. But judging by your distrustfulness now, and lack of companionship, I'd say you thought it was." Ruby answers, and he nods, limping back to his couch with a bag of potato chips.

Once she has successfully tidied the kitchen, she is ready to move on to the bedroom.

"Mr. House—"

"Greg. And I'm a doctor."

"Err… Dr. Greg," She begins, and he laughs. "May I clean your bedroom, or would you prefer a different room?"

"Bedroom's fine."

And boy, is it. The room was probably intended as something else, but it has a king-sized bed with a mahogany frame and plain quilts, two bedside tables and a massive walk-in closet. She starts with the bed, stripping it down and piling up the dirty sheets. She can smell him all over them. She then approaches the closet, pulling out all the dirty clothes and hanging the clean ones that had been dumped on the floor. Finally, she vacuums thoroughly and carried her load into the laundry room.

Once everything except the quilts are being cleaned, she wonders into his living room, the rock n' roll still reverberating in her ears.

She slips back into the bedroom and can't resist nosing through his doors and closet. In the doors all she finds are painkillers, condoms and change, but in the closet, she finds an open box full of stuff.

The box is marked simply: _HER THINGS _and contains lots of photos of a pretty woman, with dark hair, probably in her thirties. In one photo Greg is holding her, another he laughing while she kisses his cheek, and one of her, Greg and another man, just shorter than Greg and much younger, with light brown hair and boyish good looks.

Beneath the photos are a few shirts, with perfume still on them, jewelry, make-up and a travel brochure to Paris. At the very bottom is a velvet box with a very pretty ring inside, much resembling what a man would buy a steady girlfriend.

"Is this the woman who authorized the surgery?" Ruby muttered to herself, flipping one loose picture to find _Stacy & me, 1997_ on the back.

"Yes." She jumps at the sound of Greg's voice behind her, and spins, fear and embarrassment all over her face.

"I can see why Mr. Turner sacked you." His voice is angry, but his eyes are sad.

She can think of nothing to say, so she says what she is really thinking. "Her name was Stacy?"

The question catches him off guard. "Stacy Cordell. But she got hitched, now it's Stacy Warner." He replies, and Ruby nods.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"What? That she got remarried?"

Ruby pauses. "Remarried? You two were married?"

He looks away and blushes, his silver eyes burning with anguish. He shoves his hands in his back pockets.

"No."

"Freudian slip, then?" She is smiling now, and he feels some of the pain lessen.

"Shut up and clean, woman." He then limps out of the room, leaving her to repack the box and carry on.

When the laundry is dried, she hangs it up and then approaches Greg, who is making a turkey sandwich.

"I'd better get going now, Greg." She still feels uncomfortable calling him by his first name.

He looks up briefly and offers her a sandwich.

"Thank you." She takes one and sinks her teeth into it. It's good.

"Here." He hands her a fifty-dollar bill. "That good?"

Ruby smiles. "Yeah. Good-bye, Greg."

She opens his door and steps out, deciding that Greg House is a far superior employer than Mr. Turner.

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Keep voting, folks. Friends or lovers? If there friends, should it turn out to be a Hameron, Huddy, H/W or non-ship story?


	3. Chapter 3

Based on the votes, this will turn into some kind of friendship.

------------

"I know, Mrs. Carmichael. It won't happen again." Ruby apologizes. She is picking pieces of shattered plate carefully off the floor, and scowling at the small, fluffy dog that had caused all this.

Ruby had been drying one of Mrs. Carmichael's dishes when the elderly woman's nasty little dog, Macintosh, starting yapping at her and made her drop the plate.

She hates dogs.

"Miss Bryant, 'sorry' is not enough! Sorry will not bring my plate back!" The woman's hands are planted firmly on her wide, roomy hips and her face is twisted into an ugly frown.

Mrs. Carmichael's triad is interrupted by Ruby's phone ringing.

"Hello?"

"Ruby?" The voice is familiar, but she can't quite place it.

"Who is this?"

"It's, uh, Greg House."

Ruby freezes.

"Why are you calling me?"

"Look, my house was trashed last night. My friend came over with one of his beer buddies and we all got shit-faced and tore the place up. Can you come by when you're done with work and help me put it back together?" His voice is wavering and insecure, almost tentative.

Ruby pauses. "Alright, I guess. Extra charge, though." She relents, and can feel his smile on the other end of the phone.

"Naturally." With that, he hangs up.

---------

In two hours she is hopping up his steps and knocking on his door. This time, he merely swings it open and stumbles back into his kitchen.

Ruby's jaw slackens when she sees his living room.

The couch is upside down, a ripped-apart pillow had flung its contents all over the room, his bookshelf is overturned and all his photos and books are lying haplessly about.

"Sweet zombie Jesus." She mutters under breath, and House smirks.

"I haven't heard that one before."

"This place is a dump. I was just here on Tuesday!" She turns to him and waves her arms, and Greg laughs.

"I know, I know." He moves forward and grabs one end the couch. "Help me, would ya?" So she comes forward and grabs the other side and they heave it onto its ass.

Ruby sets about collecting all the books and photos as House struggles to push the bookcase up, and she smiles as his eyes bug and he grunts and groans with the effort. His right leg is suspended in the air and quivering like a taut bow string, and she can see his abs constricting under his shirts and his biceps bulging.

"Oh, shit," He growls, shoving his arms in front of him as the bookcase finally rights itself against the wall. Ruby laughs, and earns a glare from him.

"Oh, and I suppose you could have lifted it with your pinkie finger?" He snaps, and she bats her eyelashes mockingly as the magazines are piled onto the coffee table.

House and Ruby work to pick everything off the floor and throw out the pillow and all its contents. Finally, she dusts her hands and smirks with satisfaction. "Well, I'd say that about covers it." She announces, and House grins wickedly.

"Not quite, _Akaisha. _How about you take the bedroom and I take the kitchen?" He waggles his eyebrows and she looks at him suspiciously, and then glances in the kitchen. The room is swamped with broken plates and dirty glasses, puddles of beer and something else she doesn't want to know. She heads toward the bedroom.

"Aaagh!" Ruby cries as she steps into the room, which is covered with beer cans, vodka bottles, an upturned bed and lots and lots of clothes and pictures on the floor.

She can hear Greg laughing in the other room.

She sets about with a basket for bottles and cans, one for clothes, one for pictures, one for books and magazines and one for trash, and she decides her boss deserved some snooping.

Under the bed frame she finds a letter on old, withered paper, with little stains that looked like small droplets of water blurring the words.

Sept. 27, 1992 

_Greg,_

_It's James Wilson. I just wanted to tell you that I had a great time last summer. I'm headed down to Plainsboro, NJ, to get my specialty in Oncology at Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. You mentioned you wanted work in the Diagnostics there sometime. I hope to see you soon. I really miss that pain in my ass._

_Love,_

_Jimmy "Boy Wonder" Wilson. _

Ruby reads the letter over twice. Is Greg House gay? Is this his lover? Is this the man in the picture she saw of him and his girlfriend? 1992, that was probably before he met… Stacy, was it? House was probably only in his thirties. Maybe he worked with him. Or went they were classmates, But if he was still getting his specialty, than that couldn't be it. How did they meet? What did they do that summer? And these droplets of water, could they be tears? Did Greg love this man?

She folds up the paper and sets it amongst the books and magazines, careful to avoid ripping it. This is probably enough intrusion on Greg's personal life for one day.

"You done yet?" She hears Greg holler from the living room.

"Almost!" She shouts back, scurrying to tidy up the rest of the room and put the mattress back on its frame.

"Ok. I'm done." She skips into his living room, where he is lying on his couch with a beer in hand.

"You want one?" He offers another bottle, but she declines.

"No thanks, I don't drink." She smiles, and he snorts.

"Pansy."

"So… is that all?" She ventures, and House shrugs.

"What's the extra cost?"

"Um, oh, I'd say $20." She replies, and House fishes the bill out of his wallet.

"There you are, kid." As she heads toward the door, he stops her.

"Do you have time to come in on Thursday as well as Tuesday?" He doesn't look at her, and she can tell he's nervous. Why, she isn't sure.

"Pretty soon you're going ask me to move in with you! Yeah, I've time on Thursdays." She answers, smiling, and waves good-bye. He simply stares.

As she is jogging down the steps, a man approaches. The man from the picture.

"James Wilson?" She can't resist, and is oddly pleased when he turns.

"Yes?"

She thrusts her hand forward. "Hi, I'm Ruby, Dr. House's new cleaning lady."

She can tell by the cock of his head he thinks she does a lot more than clean Greg's house. He gives her a lecherous smile, winks and enters Greg's house.

"Nice to meet you, Ruby." He calls over his shoulder, than walks through the doorway. "That's one hell of cleaning lady you got yourself, House," Is all she hears as the door closes behind him.

So, James Wilson, who seems to have met House before Stacy and was and is possibly his gay lover, just hit on her. Where's Stacy? What's Wilson doing still with House?

Ruby starting jogging toward the bus stop, a sickly smile on her face.

The plot thickens.

TBC.


	4. Chapter 4

She is not having a very good day.

The bus groans and hisses as it rumbles to life, the driver shouting something about a different route today, construction down the street.

Whatever.

When she hops off the bus, ten minutes early for her appointment with Rachael, she decides to grab some food at the bakery. She pushes the crosswalk sign and waits impatiently for it to turn green.

"_Hey!_" Some man calls out behind her as she steps into the crosswalk, not even seeing the bicycle rider that is barreling down the road.

All she knew was that she was spinning, her leg twisting horribly as the wheel slammed into her, and falling hard into the unforgiving pavement. She gasps for her breath and coughs up the blood that was suffocating her, struggling to keep her eyes open, and failing miserably.

-----------

"Dr. House!" He turns to see his young duckling, Cameron, trotting toward him. He looks away again. "A girl is in the ER. She asked for you."

House studies her for a moment. She really does have pretty hair. "Oh."

"Her name is…" Cameron glances down at the file. "Akaisha Juliet Bryant." Cameron looks back up at him and gauges his reaction.

House pauses for a moment, wondering if he should shrug it off and tell Cameron to wish her well, or rush to her side.

"House. Clinic, now!" Cuddy roars from down the hall, where she is racing toward him,

Diagnostics is on this floor.

ER is one floor down.

House hops into the elevator, pulling Cameron in with him. "I'll go see her right now!" He announces, and Cameron laughs.

House limps quickly into her room.

"Ruby."

The young woman's head snaps up and she smiles widely, then notices the even younger woman beside him, and infinitely prettier.

"Hi." She rasps, and waves to Cameron, who nods and smiles.

"So… what happened? I here you jumped out in front of a bike rider." He limps toward her and scans her injuries. Superficial.

"Yeah. That's it. I realized I'd have to clean your house later today and saw the bike. It was just too convenient." She teases, and he smiles.

"Well, Dr. House, I'll be going…" Cameron motions toward the door and trails off, but House shakes his head.

"You, Dr. Cameron, go nowhere." He glances between the two women in the room. "Where are my manners?" Cameron snorts and House glares. "I haven't introduced you two. Cameron, this is Ruby, my housekeeper. Ruby, this is Cameron, my… well, the hospital babe." He grins wolfishly and Ruby rolls her eyes.

"So, you're given name is Cameron?" Ruby asks politely, and Cameron shakes her head.

"No, Allison, actually. Allison Cameron."

"May I call you Allison? That is such a pretty name." Ruby smiles, and Cameron nods.

House is eyeing both of them warily.

"Greg?" He looks absolutely humiliated.

"Yes?" He squeaks.

"Why don't you call her Allison?" She almost laughs at the look of complete horror on his face as he sputters for an excuse.

"I… don't know. I just… don't. Ya know." He shrugs and moves toward the door.

"No, I don't know." Cameron's laughing now as Ruby continues.

"What is this, 20 questions? I don't have to answer to my cleaning lady!" He declares, clearly grasping for straws.

"Ok, ok. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, Greg."

With that, House bolts from the room, Cameron in tow.

"Well, that was interesting, _Greg_." Cameron teases in her sweetest, most innocent voice.

House is seething.

"It certainly was, _Allison_."

Cameron smirks and leaves, joining up with Chase and Foreman in the congress room. House isn't sure what to do, so, when he sees Cuddy poking around the halls, he heads back down to the ER to clear up any… confusion surrounding that interaction.

"Ruby." She's lying on her bed, reading Jane Austen's _Sense and Sensibility. _

"Yes?" She is smiling behind her book, and House rolls his eyes.

"So… that thing with Cameron. She's not like, you know. She's just a colleague. She's… an underling. My bitch, you could say." She laughs at this, and sets down her novel.

"She is not, you liar. I saw that look in your eyes! You have the biggest crush on her, you just won't admit it." She is really on him now, her eyes dancing and flashing her big, charming grin.

"_I am not! _You don't know what we're like. She… she has a thing for **me**, not the other way around. She's too… I don't know. Just not right." He's shaking his head, leaning into his cane and studying a painting on her wall.

"Oh, admit it! You looove her!" She is giggling now and clapping her hands, and House can't help but smile and shrug.

"Whatever."

She stuffs some potato chips in her mouth and House settles down on her wide mattress next to her, pulling out his copy of _Lesbian Prison Stories_. Ruby snorts and rolls her eyes, but they both go back to reading their respective pieces.

----------

"Greg?" Ruby breathes, nudging his shoulder. He makes no reaction, and she carefully pulls his book out of his hands and climbs out of her bed, covering him with her blanket.

"Miss Bryant?" Cameron enters, and Ruby shushes her. The doctor's eyes flutter over to House, and back to Ruby. _"Sorry!" _She whispers and smiles, handing Ruby her release paper. Ruby smiles her thanks and then slips out of the room with her backpack, grateful to be headed home at last.

As she is headed out, she runs into Wilson again.

"Hi."

"Oh, hey Ruby!" _He remembers my name!_

She could die of happiness.

Cameron approaches the bed cautiously and pulls the blanket over his shoulders where he had pushed it down, then shifts him into a more comfortable position.

"You better not let him catch you doing that." Cuddy is smiling in the doorway, leaning her shoulder against the wall. Cameron blushes and scurries out of the room, leaving Cuddy and House alone.

Cuddy walks over slowly and brushes the stray bang out of his eyes, surprised to see silver irises staring up at her.

"You were awake?" Cuddy asks, clearly embarrassed.

"When Cameron moved me." He answers, pulling himself upright.

"She's a nice girl." Cuddy says it with a hint of something other than fondness, but House doesn't catch.

"Yeah. She is. She really is." The way his eyes drift away and she can see a trace of a smile makes her stomach twist.

"Well, glad to see your friend is okay." Cuddy says bluntly, and House snaps around again.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. My housekeeper. She's a good kid." House gets up stiffly and grabs his cane, pulling himself to his feet and hobbling toward the door.

"Dr. House?" He turned, and she seems to be debating whether or not to finish her sentence. "Oh, remember… the Clinic." He can tell that was not what she was going to say, but nods and leaves anyway.

---------

When House gets home, Ruby is sitting on his steps outside his door. He glances at his watch and realizes he was supposed to be there ten minutes ago. She flashes him a smile and follows him in.

The house is still fairly clean, but she tidies up for a few moments before she reenters his living room.

"Greg?" She calls as she is washing his dishes.

"Hmm?"

"Who is Dr. Cuddy?"

"My boss."

"She didn't look at you like a boss should be looking at their employee." Ruby smirks, and House shrugs.

"We slept together in college."

"Do you think that's why you got your job?"

House glances up at her, narrowing his eyes. "Aren't we full of questions." She just stares with imploring eyes, and he shrugs again.

"Maybe. That and I am a good doctor."

"But you agree that she would sleep with you again."

"If I wanted to, probably." He looks uncomfortable with her questions, playing with his Rubik's cube.

"And you don't want to?"

"Not really."

"Yes or no, Greg."

"…. No." Ruby grins.

"Because you'd rather be with Cameron?"

"No!"

"Well, do you want to be with Cameron?"

"I – I… well, you can't just ask like that. She's hot. So is Cuddy. But Cuddy is a friend. I mean, if I was stuck in a room alone with Cuddy overnight, well you know. I'd probably… if she wanted to. But I wouldn't seek her out." He is starting to jerk the Cube rather roughly, but Ruby presses on.

"But you would seek Cameron out."

"Jeez! I don't know. She asked me out once."

"What did you say?"

"… Yes."

"Was it good?"

"No. I was… nasty. I asked her out one time too." He felt like a teenager with his buddies.

"What did she say?"

There was a long pause, and when he answers, his voice is low and quiet. "No."

"I'm sorry. I wonder why? She sure seemed to have a thing for you. You should have seen her doting on you!" She knows this is will get a reaction.

"What did she do?"

"She kissed you."

He looks so stunned that she can't keep from laughing. "I'm kidding! No, she just covered you and moved you and stroked your forehead with affection." Ruby presses her hand to her chest and sways dramatically.

"Bitch." He laughs, tossing a napkin at her head.

"So… about this Wilson guy," She prompts, and he shrugs.

"What about him?"

"Did you sleep with him?" She asks suddenly, and he spits his beer out of mouth.

"_What!_"

"Oh, come on! Talk about a **hottie with a body**!" She then glances at her watch.

"Oh, shit! I'm late. My kitty's probably starving! Bye, Greg." House waves as she bolts out the door without a backward glance.

"Bye." He smiles.

--------

TBC.

Vote: Cuddy or Cameron should be House's "mate"?

Vote: Should Wilson, Chase or Foreman hook up with Ruby?


	5. Chapter 5

I'm not sure whether House is going to hook up with anyone, but if he does, based on votes it'll have to be House/Cameron. Sorry Huddy's and OC's! Again, though, he may not hook up at all.

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8:52 pm.

Eight more minutes.

8:53 pm.

Seven more minutes.

8:54 pm.

Six more minutes.

The phone rings just then, and Ruby hisses and picks it up quickly.

"You only have 5 and a half minutes to talk, so make it snappy."

"Good evening to you to, Akkie." Ruby perks up at the voice on the other line.

"Daddy? Oooh! So good to talk to you." She greets childishly, but she hasn't seen him in months.

"You do, Flower. How are you?"

"Good. Great. Fantastic. Guess what's starting in… 4 minutes and 56 seconds?"

"What?"

"The SEASON PREIMERE OF CSI!" She screams, flinging her arms into the air and pinning the phone between her head and shoulder.

"Okay, okay, honey," Her dad laughs, and she giggles manically.

"Did you see how last season ended?" Her voice is strained and high, and he chuckles.

"No, I missed it, darling."

"Grissom and Sara are together! They are one! My life is _complete_!" She squeals, and her dad shakes his head.

"I see. Well, Akkie, I was calling to tell you that I'm going to be in Plainsboro for the next few weeks. And that I've got some bad news."

He meets silence on the other line.

"You younger brother is sick. He has seen lots of doctors, but none could diagnose him. I'm bringing him to the teaching Hospital to see the head of Diagnostics."

"Oh my. What's wrong with Seth?"

"He has had neurological weakness and some choral acne. He's going down hill and we're not sure what's wrong. He was hospitalized once and got better, but when they released him, he got worse."

"I know a doctor at PPTH. Who's he seeing?"

"A doctor Gregory House. Do you know him?"

Ruby smiles. "Dad, I clean his house."

"Akkie, you're still cleaning houses? Honey, why don't you let me help you?" Ruby's smile fades.

"Not now, Dad. Tell me when Seth gets here."

They speak for a few more hours about the specifics of Seth's disease and other life situations they need to catch up on.

----------

"Greg?"

"Uh?"

"Have you heard of Seth Bryant?"

"No."

"He's my brother."

"Amazing."

"He's sick."

"Tragic."

"You're treating him.

"What?" House snaps his head around and glares at her. "Apparently I have no choice in the matter."

"Apparently not." Ruby smiles and reaches over and ruffles his hair. He narrows his eyes at her, but lets a smile slip out, tipping his head back to get a better look at her,

She looks really hot from this angle.

"What's wrong with him?" She's about to answer when there's a bang on the door.

Ruby opens it and grins excitedly when Wilson raises his eyes and smiles.

"Wilson. What?" House barks, and Ruby throws him a nasty glare.

"Hi James. May I call you James?" Ruby blushes, and Wilson's eyes dance.

"You most certainly can, Ruby."

House stands and limps over, poking Ruby in the side.

"You were saying what was wrong with your brother?" He prompts, and she nods.

"He's been experiencing paralysis and an odd rash on his face." She informs him, handing Wilson a mug of coffee, which he accepts gratefully.

"Who says they're related? Could be lots of things. Has he had an MRI?" House asks, and Ruby nods.

"It didn't show anything."

"What about blood tests? Sounds like Lupus to me." Wilson pipes up, sitting down next to House on his left, Ruby on his right.

"They tested for Lupus, it was negative, but gave him chemotherapy drugs anyway. He didn't respond to those or another dose of Corticosteroids."

"That rules out inflammation or autoimmune problems." House answers and sighs. "Ok, I'll take the case."

Wilson furrows his brows as House speaks softly and gently to the pretty young girl, unfamiliar with House's kindness.

He will be sure and prod House about it later.

Ruby's phone rings and she answers it quickly.

"Daddy? Are you okay? What's wrong?" Both men can hear the urgency it her voice.

A few moments of rushed words later, Ruby hangs up.

She turns to House and Wilson, tears wetting her eyes.

"Seth's in the ICU now. He can't breathe on his own anymore." She looks at House hard. "Is he going to – _to die_?" She sobs the last bit, and then crawls into House's lap and buries her face in his neck.

Wilson's watches this exchange and raises his brows. House stiffens and looks desperately at Wilson, who wisely stands and waves goodbye as he slips out the door.

"Ruby?" House asks timidly, and when she answers he can hardly hear because her mouth is buried in his neck.

He squeezes his eyes shut and tries not to feel her soft lips on his skin.

"Yeah?" She mumbles, and he breathes out sharply.

"Are you ok?" She pulls her head back and cups his chin. His hands are shaking and he's staring at her lips, but trying not to.

"I'll be fine." She answers, and then stands and grabs her bag. "You'll treat him, right?"

"Yes. I'll find out what wrongs with him. I've been a doctor for twenty odd years and have only lost one patient because a couldn't diagnose them." He whispers, looking at her intensely. She smiles.

"I hope so."

With that, her gym back slung over her shoulder, she opens the door and leaves.

--------------

The man is very young, possibly under 18, looking even younger with his deathly pale flesh and thin face. Wires come out of his arms and are stuck to his chest, a thin tube taped to his lip and shoved down his throat. His eyes are closed and the machine beside him hums steadily.

A woman is collapsed in a chair next to him, sobbing desperately, her hair coming down in strings over her shoulders.

An older man is leaning against the wall, thinning white hair hanging limp over his dark grey eyes. He looked worn and broken.

"Ruby." The voice came from the doorway, and she matches it to her boss, Greg House.

"Hey."

He limps into the room and scans Ruby's father with a cynical eye.

"Who are you?" Her father asks, worried eyes dancing.

"I'm your son's doctor, House." He answers, uncharacteristically kind.

"Hello, Dr. House. I'm Leslie, their fathers." He nods toward the two others in the room. His voice is thin and weak.

"Yeah," He turns to Ruby. "Does Seth take any drugs?"

"No." Leslie answers.

"Sports? Weird friends? Estranged relationships? Anything?"

"He loves to garden." Ruby states, and House snaps his head to her.

"Does he use any pesticides?"

"No." Leslie replies. "I do, but he refuses." He smiles weakly at the memory.

"You do? Do you wash your hands afterward?"

"Of course."

House nods and turns to Ruby.

"Ruby, I need to go to your house and see if I can find what's making him sick."

"We can go right now." She offers, and he nods again.

-----------

House straddles his bike and hands Ruby his helmet. She climbs on behind him and wraps her hands around his waist tightly, her eyes fixed on the road in front of her.

House is speeding a little, partly because he likes the feel, partly because he can hear Ruby crying into his shoulder and wants to drown out the sound.

She guides him to her father's home 30 minutes away, and they leave the bike on its kickstand in the driveway.

They walk cautiously into the house, and Greg can feel Ruby's grief. He places his hand warmly on her shoulder and squeezes lightly.

After searching the house, the two are in the garage when House comes across a pesticide, and he glances at the ingredients.

He recognizes the chemical as a diluted form of Agent Orange, a deadly herbicide used in Vietnam warfare. The container is nearly empty, and he knows what is poisoning Seth.

"Ruby, does Seth use this?" He jiggles the bottle and Ruby looks over.

"Oh, yeah, on the corn. It kills weeds like you can't believe."

"Does your dad?"

"He did, until he his lymphoma got really bad."

"He has lymphoma?" House sounds interested, and she nods.

"He got it about a year ago. He took chemo, but it didn't work. The tumors just kept coming." Tears are in her eyes again, and she looks down.

House sighs. "Ruby, I think I know what's making your dad and brother sick."

He meets her strange maroon eyes, with his own silver ones. "What?" She rasps.

"This pesticide has Agent Orange in it. Agent Orange causes peripheral neuropathy, Lymphoma, and chlorance."

When they get back to hospital, House orders that Seth is washed down and her dad retreated with Chemo.

--------

House is in the clinic, glaring at a woman with red eyes and a stuffy nose.

"H-A-Y F-E-V-E-R." House says for the third time when the door opens. He looks back and is surprised to see Cameron.

"Seth's doing better."

House nods. "Good." He breathes. "Where's Ruby?"

She looks at the ground. "She's in the cafeteria." She doesn't mean it to sound that sharp.

House nods again and leaves.

When he's in the cafeteria, he spots her in the corner table devouring a hamburger.

"Ruby." He sits down next to her and touches her shoulder. She smiles at him warmly, and his eyes bulge.

"Thank you for saving my family." She whispers, and he can feel her breath in warm puffs on his face.

He hasn't wanted to kiss somebody this bad in years.

She seems to know what he's thinking and turns back to her food. House closes his eyes.

He limps out of the room and watches Cameron filling out a patient file.

"She really loves you." He doesn't have to turn to know Ruby followed him out.

"But I don't love her."

"Then who do you love?"

He faces her briefly. "What makes you think I love anyone?"

She smiles. "That whimsical look in your eyes."

He swallows thickly and shakes his head. "No one that matters." She hears that his voice is choked and high, but has no chance to respond as he hobbles hastily away.

_No one that matters._

What could that mean?

TBC.


	6. Chapter 6

Ruby is in the bar, beer in hand. Her hair falls in down onto her shoulders, her hair glossy in the low light. Her lips are red and shining, her eyes glowing maroon.

She is absolutely beautiful.

House limps over to her table, thumping down next to her and studying her face.

"Greg. You are probably wondering why I called you." She looks to the side, barely hiding her smile.

"Yeah."

"Greg… I have a new boyfriend."

House chokes on his drink, but hides it well.

"Oh."

"Aren't you happy for me?" She is grinning like a happy young child.

Her words hit him like a shot in the heart.

_No. _ "Yeah."

He forces a smile. She nods energetically.

"His name is Adam, and he's such a sweet guy. I love him so much. He's really rich, and really nice. But his parents don't want us together, because he's at, like, a different social class." She explains, and he nods.

"When did you meet him?"

She swirls her drink with her finger. "Two weeks ago. I didn't mention him because I thought he was going to blow me off, but now we're really dating! I'm so happy."

Her joy seems to radiate from her and warm his painful, throbbing soul. "Congratulations." He rasps, and she laughs.

"Yup." She looks at him suddenly. "When we get married, will you walk me down the aisle?"

Her words are so unexpected he spits his beer out.

"What?"

"My dad is too sick…my brother is still recovering. You're the best friend I have."

He pretends his heart doesn't well at those words. "Yeah. Definitely." He grins spontaneously. "You're probably the only person who has ever said that to me."

She smirks. "I'd believe it."

"Bite me." He glares, but his eyes smile.

----------

She is scrubbing his dishes furiously, not even imagining what this odd, yellow and stinky substance that is plastered to his plate.

"Ruby?" House calls, sitting on his couch and sipping his drink. He hasn't spoken to her all evening.

"Yes?"

"Where did you meet Adam?" She suppresses the urge to snort, as he hasn't been able to talk about anything else the last three days.

"On of my clients knew him. It was… love at first sight, you could say." She is grinning now, and he hates it.

"Oh."

"Where did you meet Stacy?" The question catches him off-guard, but he recovers quickly.

"At a strip club."

"What were you doing there?" She knows it's a stupid question, but asks anyway.

"I was there for entertainment, she was there with some colleagues and trying to get a beer to calm her nerves. She didn't even sit down next to me. She saw me across the bar and her friends convinced her to go up and hit on me and see what I did. We ended up going home together." He explains quickly, downing his drink between sentences. Ruby nods.

"Sounds like you guys were meant to be." At this, House laughs, a rough and raspy and distinctly unfriendly sound.

"Yeah. That's it." He snarls, and she isn't sure why he's angry.

"Greg? What's wrong? Are you drunk?"

He sighs. "Maybe."

"Why?"

"You don't want to know."

He stands and staggers into the kitchen beside her, grabbing the wet dishes and drying them.

"Thanks." She whispers, and he appears not to hear her.

They work in silence until she leaves early, and she doesn't tell him it's to meet Adam, because a part of her knows that will break his heart.

------------

"Adam?" The man is young and noticeably cute, his brown eyes dancing at her.

"Yeah Baby?"

"Have you met Greg House?"

He putting on his jacket and tosses her a look. "Don't believe I have. Who is he?"

"A friend."

"How old?"

"Old."

"Good guy?" He asks, and she smiles.

"I think so."

"Ok. Well, I'd love to meet him, sweetie."

"I don't think he'd want to meet you, though." She laughs, and he frowns.

"Just what kind of friendship do you guys have, Ruby?"

"A close one. I clean his house." She replies, clearly not sensing his anger.

"Oh, really? And I suppose you two are together whenever I'm not around? Is that the guy you met at the bar?"

"Maybe. What's it to you?" She is getting defensive and crosses her arms over her chest.

"What's it to me! Come on, Ruby. Have you slept with him?"

"No! I would never do that to you, Adam!" She is yelling now, and he stomps toward her.

"Well, maybe you need to rethink your friendship, then."

"What does that mean?" She whispers, and he grins viciously.

"You promise you'll never see him again and I won't call this all off."

She bolts from house, trying to hide the tears streaming down her face.

------------

For reasons she can't explain, she rides the bus to his house. She sees the lights and thanks the Gods he's home.

"Ruby, what's wrong?" His silver gaze jerk over her face, and he steps back and lets her come in.

Her maroon eyes are shiny and leaking, and she buries her face into his shirt.

"Ruby, are you okay?" His voice is unusually soft and kind, and he slumps onto the ground and pulls her into his lap.

"Adam said…" She sobs roughly between words, "that if I ever saw you again, he'd, he'd, _he'd leave me!_" House feels anger surge through him as her face crumples with those last three words.

"Ruby, that's ok. I'll clean my own house. If you love Adam, you should go with him." He's never said anything like this before, but somehow, he's done lots of things with Ruby that's he never done before.

"Greg, do you love me?" She sits back and holds his face so he can't turn away, but sees the anguish in his eyes.

"I don't know." He breathes, and she buries her eyes in his.

"Yes or no, Greg."

There is a long, pregnant pause. "Yes." The word is mumbled so quietly she can barely hear it, but she does and it's unmistakable.

"You're my best friend, Greg. In that way, I love you too. And you're probably more important to me than Adam." Her voice is strong and firm and House finds comfort in it.

"Oh." It's all he can think to say, and she smiles.

"Yes. Well. Do you promise to be my best friend forever?" She grabs his hand and he snorts.

"Should we get BFF bracelets?" He jokes, and she sticks out her tongue at him. He sighs. "I promise, Ruby."

-----------

Later that night, they're on the couch, House with popcorn and Ruby with a Popsicle. Ruby convinced House to watch _The Silence of the Lambs_, and she screams about every other scene.

There watching Clarice and Hannibal in the hospital:

"You know what you look like to me, with your good bag and your cheap shoes? You look like a rube. A well scrubbed, hustling rube with a little taste. Good nutrition has given you some length of bone, but you're not more than one generation from poor white trash, are you, Agent Starling? And that accent you've tried so desperately to shed? Pure West Virginia. What's your father, dear? Is he a coal miner? Does he stink of the lamb?

You know how quickly the boys found you... all those tedious sticky fumblings in the back seats of cars... while you could only dream of getting out... getting anywhere... getting all the way to the FBI."

House points toward the screen, laughing.

"What?" Ruby snaps, and he turns to her.

"You here that? Lector says Clarice is a rube. You do know what that is, right?" House teases, and Ruby looks pissed.

"I'm not a rube."

"Oh, but you are."

She shoves him hard and he laughs even harder, swinging his arm around her shoulder and giving her a noogie. His knuckles push into her skull and she narrows her eyes, jabbing him in the side, hard. He yelps and lets her go.

She hops to her feet and skips to the phone.

"Can we call Wilson?"

"Why?"

"Because he's really cute and I want to see him."

House laughs. "Fine."

Wilson arrives fifteen minutes later, and the three settle onto the couch.

"Hey, Rube?" House calls, and Ruby growls.

"What?" She snaps, and he chuckles.

"Grab me a beer, would you?"

"I'm not your slave!"

"But you are my maid."

She slaps in the face, hard, and he howls as Wilson laughs. Ruby is laughing now, too, and pulls on top of House and starts hitting him again and again and the doctor can't stop howling and jerking and laughing.

And all the sudden, before anyone knows what is happening, House and Ruby and are kissing.

Wilson goes silent and sits back, enjoying the show and Ruby winds her arms around House's neck and House grabs her face gently, the soft smacking noises and popping until the finally pull apart.

Oh, shit.

TBC.

Dun, dun, dun.

Don't know whether it's going to be a friendship or romance. What do you think now?


	7. Chapter 7

"Greg House, I solemily swear not to tell a soul about what happened last evening, on November the 2nd of 2006." Wilson has his hand pressed to his breast and his eyes glued forward, but a smile still leaks over his face.

"Don't look so god damn smug." House is pissed, Wilson can tell, but that is nothing unusual. Ruby had high-tailed it out of his house after they started snogging, and House has pinned Wilson and forced him to promise to not tell anyone about it.

"So… are you guys, like, an item?" Wilson ventures, and House snorts.

"No."

Wilson nods. "Okay."

-------------

When she comes next Tuesday to clean his house, she doesn't even look at him, much less speak to him.

"Okay, Rube, let's get a couple things straight. Firstly, I don't want to, you know, screw you or anything. Secondly, it wouldn't be that horrible just to forget this ever happened and move on." House says, and Ruby looks at him out of the corner of her eye as she Hoovers his rug.

"Greg, I don't love you. You're a great friend, but that's it." She responses softly, and House nods.

"Good. Okay. We have come to an agreement, at least in that area."

She smiles briefly and pushes the Hoover into House's bedroom, heading immidietly for the closet.

She pulls down a dusty box she had seen him rummaging through earlier that week, the one next to _HER THINGS_, and pulls it open carefully. A cloud of dust makes her eyes wet and cough a few times, but she unloads it anyway.

Within it are degrees, awards, pictures of college days and other parafenalia that gave her a feel for what his past was like.

He was kicked out of a college he got a scholarship to because he was accused of cheating on a test.

He had a girlfriend named Lilly.

He played Lacrosse.

At the bottom of the box, she finds a flimsy loose photo of him, after the infarction, probably present day, and yanks it loose from under a thick medical college book.

He is wearing the same _GRAVEDIGGER! _hat she'd seen him wear the day he met her, with a stick of pink cotton candy in hand. He's smiling that rare, sweet smile she's only seen once or twice, with a Rolling Stones t-shirt and holding a woman's jacket.

The picture stuck to the back of this one features the young girl at the hospital, Allison something, with her own Gravedigger hat and two sticks of cotton candy. She is blowing a kiss at the camera and Ruby can see House's cane sticking out on the edge of the photo, and can't help laughing.

Maybe these two did have a relationship.

Ruby stands up and packs the box away again, loading it back onto it's shelf and marching into the living room.

"Greg?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever kissed Allison?"

"No."

"Do you want to?"

House looks over at her from where he's standing in his kitchen.

"What makes you ask?"

"Just answer the question, Greg." She is daring him, her startling maroon eyes glowing fiercely.

"No." He challenges, and smiles at her huffy sigh.

"Then I quit."

"What?" This catches him off guard.

"I said, I quit! If you don't answer the question with a straight yes or no, then I quit!" She plants her hands on her hips and House is silent for a moment, then relents.

"Ok. Whatever. Yeah, I've though about once or twice. You know, a guy gets lonely." He looks at her intensly, then back at his bag of Potato Chips. "But you know that I don't love her anymore."

Ruby furrows her brow. "Since when?"

"Since I met you." She gulps, and he keeps munching away. "But we're friends, and that's cool. And that also means Cameron back in the running."

"The running? She has competition?"

"Well, it's her, Cuddy, or, God forbid, Wilson." House jokes, and Ruby gasps.

"Paws off, mister! Wilson is _mine_!" Ruby declares, and House laughs.

"He'd love to hear that."

"Greg?"

"Cha?"

"Let's say you married Allison." House looks up as she says this.

"Oookay."

"And Stacy came back into your life, single and wanting you."

"Right."

"Would you leave Allison for her, or stay with Allison and tell Stacy to hit the road?"

"Well." House thought about it for a moment. "I'd probably sleep with Stacy a couple of times, not telling Cameron, see if I liked it better than Cameron, and if I did, dump Cam. If not, I'd tell Stacy to get lost and go back with Cam." He decided, and Ruby nodded.

"That's kind of cruel, but it works."

"Yup. What if you married me, then Adam comes back into town, single and wanting you?" House tests, and Ruby raises her brows above the _Maxuim _magazine she was studying with disgust.

"I'd dump you like a wet rock." Ruby replies easily, and House laughs.

"Oh, that hurts, Rube." He pats his hand over his heart. "Right here, babe." She snorts and gives him the bird.

--------

Wilson and House are sitting in the Clinic waiting room, and, for lack of better term, gossiping.

"So… what's with you and Ruby? Are you good?" Wilson implores, and House nods.

"Well, you know. When we made out, she was still hung up over Adam, and I was shit-faced. Now we're back to where we were."

"Which is were?"

"I'm her friend, she's my maid." He smirks and dry-swallows a Vicoden.

"There's a healthy relationship."

"Sure thing."

Wilson looks around the room. "I heard Cameron's still got a thing for you."

"I know."

"Do you return the sentiment?"

"Maybe."

Wilson smiles and walks away.

---------------

Ruby is cleaning House's couch with a spray bottle, damp sponge, paper towels and a hand-held vacuum. It's 10:00 pm.

"Greg?" Ruby looks around but he is nowhere to be found. "Dr. House?" She wonders into the bedroom.

Nope.

The office.

Nope.

The bathroom.

Nope.

She opens the front door and peeks outside, surprised to find House, his shirt off, in shorts, looking up toward the sky and swaying.

"Greg?" She calls, and he opens one eyes, rolling it over to look at her.

"Look, Rube," He lifts his arm slowly and points it toward the black sky, and Ruby looks up as well, studying the star-freckled abyss.

"It's amazing, huh? To think of everything that could be going on up there, or nothing at all." She whispers, and House nods.

"To think that out there, somewhere somebody's probably looking in the very same place, at the very same burning sun. Wherever you are, at any one place in the world, everyone else has got the same stars as you do. When I get lonely, I sometimes look up there and if feels good to know someone's bound to be looking up there too." House confesses, and Ruby smiles, then grabs him hand.

"Greg?" She points toward the sky, "Why don't we pick some stars? Claim them as ours?" Ruby suggests, and House laughs.

"I doubt the stars would appreciate that."

"They won't know."

"Okay," House sighs, and then glances at her, "Which ones do you want?"

"How about… O' Ryan's Belt?"

"Sounds good to me."

TBC.


	8. Chapter 8

Cameron is clacking away at House's computer, and he flops down next to her.

"Hey."

She studies him from over her eyeglasses. "Hello."

He looks briefly around the room, fidgets with his cane, and then locks his silver eyes on her. "How are you?"

She arches her thin, clipped brows. "Fine, thanks." She returns to the computer. "How are you doing, House?" Her voice is sincere, and she watches him gently.

"Fine." He mumbles, looking indecisive, then stands and limps out of the room.

----------------

Ruby is fumbling with his plates, leaning his Hoover delicately against the table. House is sitting on his counter, swinging his legs back and forth.

"Greg, you know I got back together with Adam, right?" Ruby doesn't look up at him, but he can see something in the tension in her shoulders.

"Yeah."

"Dr. House." Ruby looks up suddenly, her strange maroon eyes sparking red in the artificial glare of the kitchen lights. "I'm moving."

House says nothing.

"We're going to Minnesota in about three weeks." She drags her teeth over her lower lip. "I've already packed up my stuff, and I've quit from every other house." She's playing with her shirt now. "I wanted to get a chance to say good-bye."

She stares at him for a long time, and then continues. "I'll miss you."

House takes a long time to respond. "Me too."

Suddenly, he hops off the counter and limps out of the room, vanishing into his bedroom.

"Greg, I'm sorry." Ruby calls after him, and can hear movement in the room, before a head pokes out again. The man is staring at the floor, and she buries her nails in her palm as she sees the shroud of darkness eclipse him.

"Don't be." He answers, he voice quiet and high, and she pinches her eyes shut to block out tears.

When she looks up at House again, she can see the similar wetness in his eyes.

-----------

"You seem rather glum." Wilson greets, sitting down on House's guest chair. House simply stares at him, saying nothing. "Did something happen?"

House glares even harder, and Wilson eventually stands and leaves.

Shortly afterward, Cameron strolls in.

"Dr. House," She begins, and he doesn't acknowledge her. "We have a new case."

No response. "Dr. House? Are you okay?" She walks over to him and touches his shoulder. He turns his head as if to look at her but his gaze never made it all the way.

"Ruby's moving." He states, and she nods sympathetically.

"I'm sorry. You'll miss her, huh?"

House shrugs. "She was cool."

"She was. She really cared about you." Cameron sighs and sits in the chair Wilson had occupied not long before. "Why is she leaving?"

"Her boyfriend wants her to." No one could miss the snarl in his voice. "They're going to Minnesota in a few weeks."

His silver eyes mist grey.

Cameron reaches forward bravely and covers his hand in her own, squeezing it briefly, then standing and leaving.

------------

Ruby came over to House's place on a Wednesday, with her bags in hand. House is sleeping on his couch, his cane lying across his stomach. She walks over quietly and rubs his chest until he stirs.

"Hmm?" He blinks his bleary eyes, and she smiles.

"I just came by to say goodbye." She whispers, and he nods. She leans down and hugs him, kissing his cheek lightly.

"Oh." He breathes, and she laughs.

"I've had a good time with you the last few months, Greg. I'll miss you." She is crying quietly, and he turns away.

"Bye."

He looks up at her for the last time, trying to mesmerize her strange maroon eyes.

TBC.

Should Cameron and House get together, or be "just friends"?

Erp, and Wilson will be very sad to find Ruby's leaving.


	9. Chapter 9

The airport is packed. People are pushing and sobbing and running and laughing and yelling.

Ruby and Adam are rushing to their gate, giggling.

"Hey, sweetie? Can you grab my Coke?" Adam asks as they flop into their seats, and Ruby smiles.

"Sure, babe." She digs through the briefcase, and then fumbles upon her cell. She flips it open and scans through the pictures, surprised to find that she kept one of House. He is grinning like an idiot, holding her wallet in his hand, and she took the picture to supposedly give to the police when she filed her report.

She'll really miss him.

Without warning, no burning or pricking or lumps in the throat, she is sobbing hard enough that her shoulders tense and quiver with each blow.

------------

"Wilson! Wilson, where's House?" Cameron calls, and the man turns.

"I don't know. He seemed upset the last couple weeks, but I didn't think it was anything serious." Wilson joins in her stride as she bustles down the hall.

"Obviously he was upset. Ruby's moving, or didn't he tell you?"

"Ruby's gone?" Wilson looks surprised and strangely upset. "When?"

"House told me about a two weeks ago. Said Ruby was leaving with her boyfriend to Minnesota." Cameron explains, and furrows her brow as Wilson's face drops.

"I didn't even get to say goodbye."

"Yeah, right. And I thought House was sad to see her leave." Cameron arches her brows, and Wilson shrugs.

"She was cute."

"Of course." Cameron smiles and drops off into the patient's room.

------------

Ruby is handing her luggage off to Adam, who jogs up the steps and dumps the heavy bags into the hotel room. When he came back down, Ruby skipped over to him.

"Babe, I have an idea." She announces, and he nods.

"Yeah?"

"We should get a cat."

"Okay." Adam agrees hesitantly, and after a few moments of discussion, Ruby is driving off to the pet store, boyfriend in tow.

They enter the glass walled shop, Ruby grinning reflexively at all the soft mews and woofs.

In a small cage in the corner, all the kittens purred and napped, and Ruby buzzed over to it like a magnet.

Adam and she studied all the young felines, and Adam finally pulled out an orange pockmarked thing, with Ruby rejected.

"Firstly, it's a girl. I want a boy. Secondly, it's ugly. Put it back." She orders, and then one kitty in the corner catches her eye.

It's an unusual looking beast, with glossy grey-brown fur and a thin, narrow face.

But what really catches her attention is a pair of sharp, silver eyes blinking back at her.

"You're the one, baby. I'll call you Greg."

------------

House is on his couch, his TV babbling and his Vicedon numbing his mind.

All he can see is those startling maroon eyes.

A knock on the door rouses him from his perch on his couch.

Cameron is smiling up at him, and he raises his brows.

"I was worrying you might, like, off yourself or jump out a window or something." She declares, and steps through his threshold.

"Oh. Right. That's what I was going to do. You know me, Mr. Misery." He quipped, and Cameron raised her brows.

"You _are _Mr. Misery, House." Cameron teased, then turned serious. "So…House. Are you ok?"

"I'm fine."

"When did she leave?"

"This morning. Left me a message."

"She didn't say goodbye?"

"She did. Last Wednesday." House sighs, and Cameron nods.

"That's good."

"She had really pretty eyes." House's blurts, and Cameron looks over.

"I bet she'd say the same about you."

A heavy silence dampens the room.

Cameron sits down on the couch next to House, touching his shoulder lightly.

Cameron stays over at his house, watching OC, General Hospital and talking about this and that until nearly 3am in the morning. Cameron is yawning and stretching, but House is wired from nearly a gallon of coffee.

House looks through the window, and then turns back to Cameron.

She is sound asleep against his shoulder.

He lowers her gently onto the couch, and then hobbles over the window, staring up at the endless black nothing.

He starts when he hears her voice behind him. Cameron is thumbing through a magazine, when she comes upon a survey of 'your perfect girl'.

"House?"

"Hmm?"

"What's your favorite eye color in a woman?"

He smiles softly, sadly. "Maroon."

FIN.

All done, kiddies!


End file.
